


and like the autumn leaves

by hahahaharlequin



Series: [SENCHROME] What am I supposed to do— Just sit here and not fall in love with you? [1]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Or Is It?, Pining, of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:28:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28861812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hahahaharlequin/pseuds/hahahaharlequin
Summary: "Like the autumn leaves,"he'd mumbled to himself as his realisation of just howbaaaadhe had lost it for his friend.Like the autumn leaves, he'd fallen for Senku.
Relationships: Chrome & Ruri (Dr. STONE), Chrome/Ishigami Senkuu
Series: [SENCHROME] What am I supposed to do— Just sit here and not fall in love with you? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116512
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	and like the autumn leaves

**Author's Note:**

> _What's a fool to do?_   
>  _Could you fall for me_
> 
> _Like I fell for you?_
> 
> ___not fall in love with you by jeff williams

Chrome had always thought it would be _impossible._ He hadn't lost hope, no, _never,_ but the idea of finding the cure for Ruri's sickness had almost seemed outlandish, until the mysterious magic-- no, _science man_ had walked through the trees, trailing after Kohaku, panting like he'd just run five laps to the mountains and back whereas Kohaku seemed so bored with their posturing.

Sure. 

As the village's self-proclaimed _sorcerer,_ he still had face to save, even if he had been sort of banished from the main island, but he never bothered coming back anyway, as he had been too busy looking for whatever could take away the pain and sickness Ruri had been carrying since their childhood.

That moment Senku had walked up to him with the faintest _interest_ on his face, Chrome should have known it would change his life forever. It took him far too many inventions, escapades, _sinister plotting_ until he'd let the gears in his head to start turning. 

Heh. _Gears._

Discovery and brand new knowledge was always something Chrome thrived for, something that made his blood sing, as if his whole body was glad to be existing, to be alive. It was finding little rocks of different sizes, shapes, weight, colour, and in pretty much every way they differed from each other was what kept Chrome company in his isolation. But meeting _someone_ who had the same enthusiasm and fascination as himself was all it took for Chrome to do a double-take. 

\--- --- --- 

He'd only ever had eyes for Ruri.

That much was clear; clearer than the waters that surround their village, and it was clear as day to everyone in the village, especially with the determination to find the cure painted on his face when the village chief had sent him away. 

He walked away with a heavy heart, a heavy head, but his hands were itching for _something_ to occupy themselves with, so he went on expeditions, adopting what once was a hobby from his childhood, and now, one of the things he was most passionate about. 

Sometimes, he'd wrangle Ginro to come with him, who only let himself get dragged away after a not-so subtle brushing away by his own brother, and the fearsome staredown of Kohaku. But most of the time, he went by himself. 

_Until now..._

He and old man Kaseki had just stayed up for the third time in a row, toiling away, and in secret from Senku, in hopes of finally, _finally_ stunning the leader of the Kingdom of Science with machinery that was beyond him. 

The wind was picking up, and it had clearly been much chillier than the past couple of days. The browned, and crunchy leaves have all fallen to the ground weeks ago, gathered into small mounds, only for Ginro, Suika, and the other kids to jump into, making the crisp sound of them breaking into tinier pieces. 

Chrome shuddered at the thought-- or was that the wind? Either way, the crunchy leaf he held in his hand felt heavier than it should, and looked more like what must be the human heart, _his_ heart; his eyes widened at the thought, as he glanced towards the kids playing with the leaves, at Ruri and the girls giggling to themselves, at Gen making the leaf disappear in front of Magma and the other guys, only to pull it out from behind Kinro's head, and then, at Senku who had a handful of leaves in his hands that he was giving a slight look of delight, before closing his fist around them, earning Chrome a crackling sound that echoed in his ears, even as it had been _days ago,_ and he was already busy with the large gear he and Kaseki had set up near the river, so the ones in charge of pumping air into the furnace didn't have to exert so much energy in the forthcoming winter-- he didn't have time to spare to let his mind wander.

And yet, his thoughts still lingered back to that moment.

With bleary eyes, he held one gear up while Kaseki wedged the other one in place. His sight was swimming in sweat even in the cold, and his mind was supplying him images of Senku from days ago, but instead of leaves in his hand, it was Chrome's heart that he closed his fist on, and crushed with sheer joy on his face. 

Groaning from the hunger brought about by working nonstop, and the vivid imagery of a heartbreak that hasn't even happened yet-- probably never gonna happen, since Chrome had been disillusioned since then that maybe, _just_ maybe he had a chance. 

That he could meet someone like him, someone to share his rock collection, his small hut-turned-watchtower, and the rest of his life with. 

\--- --- ---

_"How can you say something like that so lightly!"_ It was more of a statement than a question, really, and Chrome supposes he deserved it. The Heating and Melting team have decided to take a short breather, and Chrome found himself wandering towards the lab where Senku has holed himself in, along with Gen, as they made something or the other into a paste of sorts. 

He almost barged in, walked in, and tried to make his presence known, until Ruri had passed by him, and pulled him into the hut where she and Gen had been working on manganese batteries. They had already finished the ungodly amount of 800 batteries, and Ruri was only tidying up, so she employed his services once he managed to wheeze out that his team were on a short break. 

Ruri had always had a special place in Chrome's heart, but now that another had been worming their way into Chrome's heart, he thought it was fair enough to tell her about it. He'd thought about how she'd be understanding, forgiving, maybe. Or maybe a little hurt, but he hadn't expected her to hit him on the arm. 

"You say it like it's _all over already,_ but it hasn't even begun yet!" She added, tugging at Chrome's headband a little too harshly than usual. Wincing at the thought of a bruise blooming under the headband, and at the idea of both Ruri and Kohaku as gorillas, Chrome choked on his own spit, so Ruri let him go and started patting him on the back like a mother. 

She'd always looked after Chrome since his parents... since his parents had gone fishing, and never came back. He'd been raised alongside her and Kohaku, so they were more like his sisters in every sense, and yet, he still loved her with all his heart.

His heart... his heart that was now in a crumbly, crushed heap in Senku's hand. He couldn't help the sigh that escaped him, but it didn't go unnoticed by Ruri.

"You won't know unless you tell him, Chrome, you know this, right?" Of course Chrome knew that. But despite the rational side of his brain, despite how close he and Senku were with each other, how close their cots were, Chrome still thought of how great a distance he will have to leap to just to reach Senku.

Senku, who had the knowledge of the old world's technological advancements deeply ingrained in him, Senku who was the Kingdom of Science's leader, Senku--

Senku.

Senku.

Senku.

**_Senku._ **

The mere thought of him makes Chrome feel all warm and tingly inside, as he remembered the nights they'd stayed up, as Chrome listened to Senku recite to him the litany of everything ever invented in the old world. 

In all honesty, Chrome would have thought Senku had been pulling his leg with some of the things he'd tell him about-- small heating machines that didn't need starting a fire for your cold food? Copying prints and drawings into a hundred more parchment in a blink of an eye? _Telephones_ you could put inside your pocket?

Chrome would have thought Senku was pulling his leg, but _this was_ **_Senku._ **

Senku, who was the most brilliant, most rational guy he's ever met in his entire life. Senku, who would rather not get mad, nor feel any unnecessary emotions that could get in the way with his work. Senku, whom Chrome _really_ had fallen for. 

_"Like the autumn leaves,"_ he'd mumbled to himself as his realisation of just how _baaaad_ he had lost it for his friend. 

Like the autumn leaves, he'd fallen for Senku.

And like the autumn leaves, Chrome was _fragile._ He couldn't, he just couldn't risk telling Senku his feelings, if it meant it could put a wall between them; if it meant for Chrome to hand out his own heart, only to watch Senku crush it in his palm.

_Like the autumn leaves._

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I'm finally back with my _**100th**_ published fanfic! 
> 
> Can you believe it? I know I can't! And I return with the 100th fic I'd been planning on posting since last December, but couldn't get the words out right,, but it's here now! 
> 
> And it's **SENCHROME and it's also my first time writing for DCST but I am also excited to write more for them, and write _even more so,_ now that I've posted my 100th fic now.**
> 
>  **Here's to a hundred more fics this year!  
> **  
>  Cheers, everyone! Have a nice day/evening, and stay safe and hydrated!!


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